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"God wove a web of loveliness, of clouds and stars and birds, but made not anything at all so beautiful as words." Anna Hempstead Branch

While writing is a huge passion for me, research is too so you may find me occasionally writing about a product, service, or item I have knowledge of. I will not intentionally mislead as your and my health is a priority to me. At times I am financially compensated for information that I provide on my blogs.

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Sunday, November 29, 2009

I received these pictures the other day with a touching story about a tiger having lost her cubs shortly after birth in a California zoo. She was melancholy so some newly born piglets were substituted to see if it would bring her out of her depression.

I looked for more information and "snoped it". The pictures are real, but the story is not.

A week ago I ran a post on my blog about marketing photos, and threw in a photo contest to boot where two lucky winners will receive a professional camera each month. My friend Jeannie shared the contest news with me as she excitedly told me about someone she knew who had won.

Then I came across an article in Woman's World about women who made money from home. One of the jobs showcased was selling photos. In my enthusiasm to share with my friend Jeannie and my blogging friends I dedicated a post to these sites.

I received an email and a phone call from Jeannie the other day. It seems Shutter stock rejected her photos. A small sample of her photos is shown above and I apologize about the quality, as she emailed them to me in Yahoo account and then I saved to desk top. Unfortunately Yahoo loses something in the transition when saving photos. She was allowed to submit ten and received words like these reasoning why all of her photos had been rejected:

In order for Shutterstock to maintain the high standard of our photography collection, new submitters must receive approval on at least seven (7) of their first ten (10) images to continue uploading. Unfortunately, while some of the images you submitted may meet our guidelines, we are unable to approve the requisite number and have temporarily disabled the uploading function on your account. This decision was based on concerns about quality, composition, lighting, or other features of your initial batch of images and we have listed the reasons below.

We invite you to resubmit in 30 days. In the meantime, you can still post banners, earn money from referring photographers, and participate in our forum discussions. Please do not create more than one account; doing so will result in permanent suspension.

Thank you for your interest in Shutterstock. We look forward to seeing you again in 30 days!"

Jeannie states they will not have to concern themselves in seeing her again in 30 days! She deleted her account. I wish I could show you how pretty the pictures first looked when I viewed them on her camera, but even if they felt the pictures were not what they were looking for would there not have been a better way to let Jeannie know?

She has a Triond, SOAphoto.com, Flickr and Snapfish account where she posts pictures, plus she has generously allowed me to post her pictures from time to time.

We cannot help but get excited when we hear of something that will not only allow us to pursue a path we love but get paid while going there. It's normal to have these desires. Do not let anyone deter you from your love.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

The first call made on a telephone was made by a Scottish-born American inventor, Alexander Graham Bell. The first conversation was not eloquent, but it was remarkable in that the conversation traveled over the wire. Bell, having spilled acid down the front of his pants was heard to say on that long ago day in 1876 "Mr. Watson! Come here, I want you." I think my conversation would have been a bit more colorful, but maybe not quotable. :-)

In 1891 the dial was added to the telephone. The dial and automatic exchange replaced the operator thanks to an invention made by Almon B. Strowger. It seems that Strowger's family had a rival undertaker business and was tired of the operator directing callers to the competing family owned business according to In the Beginning...The Nearly Complete History of Almost Everything illustrated by Brian Delf and written by Richard Platt (1995)

Telephones have come a long ways since then. We can conference call, speed dial, text message, call round the world, and enjoy free week end and evening minutes on our cellular phones... I am grateful for my phone and the loved ones I can keep in touch with because of "Ma Bell." Call someone you love today and wish them a Happy Thanksgiving day.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

I came across a story on the web the other day and I am a true sucker for an inspiring love story especially when it involves animals. I hope you enjoy this romantic tale or should I say "tail" too?

It starts around eight years ago "when a wild Australian Sulphur Crested Cockatoo flew into a car and broke its wing.

The driver rescued the bird with the broken wing and took it to a veterinarian. Unfortunately the wing had to be amputated, so the motorist and their spouse decided to keep the bird fearing for it's safety. That meant they had to apply for a wildlife permit to keep the bird.

A bird with only one wing needed extra care to survive. A special cage was purchased to safeguard the bird from predators, but soon she was receiving visitors, and one in particular took an interest in her.

The Australian owners stated "One of the things that impressed us was how she would push lettuce leaves through the bars of the cage, offering food to visitors." This little lady may have lost a wing, but she had a lot of heart.

There was a lot of talking and grooming going on. The cockatoo takes pride in his appearance, particularly when he is courting, and he could be seen for hours sitting on her cage taking great pride in his preening.

Isn't he the handsome specimen?

Then he approached the front door. No father to get past, just this nasty tamper proof clasp.

But love found a way to unlatch that door and soon there were little ones. They both took turns sitting on the eggs until they hatched. The young suitor proved to be a wonderful and protective mate and father. I hope all my readers enjoy a little romance now and then. It's good for the soul.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Even while driving I find myself gazing here and there.

The leaves are turning to glorious shades of yellow, orange, red, berry and burgundy. Once in awhile there is still a few hearty blossoms showing their colorful faces. The sky is always performing a show and it makes it pretty darned hard to keep driving. One day the sky was full of clouds and no matter which direction I looked the display was too beautiful to ignore. I pulled into a parking lot at one of the little strip malls in town and parked. After filling my pocket with batteries I looked for a clear view and started snapping photos in all directions.

I was so engrossed with what I was doing that I did not notice someone was watching me.

How long was he there? He stood within a few feet. Then he spoke.

"What are you looking at?" he asked.

His inquisitive look tickled me. How could he not see it? I smiled. I couldn't help it. "The sky." I said, "Isn't it beautiful?" He agreed.

I collected about a dozen photos, saved about seven and this is just three. Have I gone nuts since I started taking pictures? I took pictures of the children while they were growing up, but have never had much enthusiasm for any other subjects until now.

Suddenly I am seeing tiny berries on trees throughout town. Berries of orange, red and black. Some of the berries look like gems, particularly when glistening with dew. Did these trees only bloom this year? Where were they previously?

My husband thinks I am nuts and forbids me to carry a camera when we are out, so I simply remember the beauty and plan to come back when alone or with my friends or grandchildren. They (the grandchildren and friends) have actually helped me to spot things I may have missed. Have I caused them to go "nuts" too? If this is "nuts" don't send me for a cure, because I am enjoying every minute of this insanity. Take care & God bless.

Just a few days ago I complained about going into some of our bigger stores in the neighborhood and not finding anything resembling a nativity anywhere. I really felt that retail was/is missing the whole point of Christmas.

Then my oldest son and I talked on our cells and he told me he was in Big Lots with his children. I was only a few blocks so I turned my car around and headed into Big Lots. It was nice to see my son and some of my grands.I got and gave hugs and kisses and they headed home to make dinner with the new dishes and pots and pans he had purchased. I grabbed a cart and went shopping.

Big Lots had a whole end cap full of nativities and some were rather pretty. This one is created with the word "Noel" in it, another one was made similarly with the word "Peace". I snapped away and then decided to look around because I have always found that this store carries an unusual assortment of goods.

Then I came across this package of Israeli Couscous. It is a toasted pasta made with only whole wheat and flour. The tiny balls of pasta fascinated me and I decide I would use them instead of rice for my stir fry. I had purchased a variety of vegetables and had them chopped and ready to fry at home.In less time than it took my camera to download my daily photos I had cooked up my stir fry and was crunching away delightfully while I edited photos.